Dr
John G. Hartnett received his Ph.D. in Physics, with distinction,
from the University of Western Australia, where he is
currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow.
His current research interests include ultra-low–noise
radar; ultra-high–stability microwave clocks based on
pure sapphire resonators; tests of fundamental theories
of physics, such as Special and General Relativity; and
measurement of drift in fundamental constants and their
cosmological implications. He has published more than
30 papers in refereed scientific journals and holds two
patents. |
How
did our universe come to be? This is one of the ‘big’ questions,
and scientists who study the origin and history of the universe
(cosmos) are called cosmologists. Nearly all modern cosmologists
believe that everything was ‘kickstarted’ by a ‘big bang’1
about 15 billion years ago, where the universe suddenly emerged
from an extremely hot and dense state.2 But one dissenter
from this ideology is Dr John Hartnett—this makes him a ‘rare
breed’ of physicist. He is one of a relatively small number
of Bible-believing creationists worldwide involved in cosmological
research and thinking.
Facts
vs their interpretation
Dr John G. Hartnett When they view distant stars that are
millions of light-years away from the earth, many folk, including
Christians, have trouble accepting the biblical account that
God created the universe about 6,000 years ago. But believing
the Bible right from the start is not a problem for John,
which puts him at odds with his evolutionary counterparts.
Often they will accuse him of denying reality (‘look, we can
see it—it’s obvious’). But John explains that when looking
at the universe, it’s no different to looking at the fossil
record. ‘It’s the interpretation of the evidence’, he says.
‘Sure, distant stars and galaxies might be millions of light-years
away, but that doesn’t mean that it took the light millions
of years, by our standards, to get here. A light-year is a
measurement of distance, not time. [It is the distance that
light would travel in a year through a vacuum at its current
speed of 300,000 km/sec (186,000 miles per second), i.e. 9,461,000,000,000
km (5,878,000,000,000 miles).] In other words, it’s just an
expression used to tell us how far away something is—not how
long it took the light to get here.’
John did not always believe in Genesis creation. He explains
that he was interested in cosmology from a very young age,
and mixed with those of similar interests. When John was 16,
he and a friend co-authored a cosmology book that won a local
science contest.
Big bang founded on unprovable assumptions
He says, ‘At that time, I would have described myself as an
atheist, believing that the big bang had all the answers,
although there was actually very little in the way of specifics
about this model. It was this that drove me into further investigation.
Interestingly, most people think that the big bang has already
been worked out, but they don’t realize that there are differing
versions of the big bang model—and not everyone agrees. By
inserting a few unprovable assumptions at your starting point,
you can end up with virtually any model you like.
The
big bang assumes that the universe has no centre or edge.
Not only is this not proven, some recent research on redshift
patterns have badly damaged its credibility by indicating
that our galaxy is at, or near to, the centre of the universe.3
‘What I really find amusing’, he says, ‘is the way people
from various other fields of science often quote the big bang
as if it’s “set in stone”. I don’t wish to sound unkind, but
because they are not experts in this field, many of them have
no idea what the big bang is really all about and misunderstand
it.’
At present, John is assisting another creation scientist,
Alex Williams, in compiling a book about the big bang from
a creationist viewpoint. ‘We really want to show the scientific
weaknesses in big bang thinking, and that you can’t fit it
into the Bible’, he says. Jokingly, he adds, ‘We actually
want to create a big bang of our own among the scientific
establishment, and dispel the myth of this cherished icon
of evolution.’
Solving problems
John is not content simply to point out that a light-year
is just a measure of distance, but tries to explain distant
starlight from a biblical framework:
- The
way I see it, the Bible is true and the stars were
created on Day 4. Yes, the universe is very large
but we also have a very great God. My personal view
is that the explanation probably involves a certain
amount of miraculous activity during Creation Week.
- But
I don’t believe that we see any false information,
like “light created on its way.” This would mean that
we would be seeing light from heavenly bodies that
don’t really exist; and even light that seems to indicate
precise sequences of events predictable by the laws
of physics, but which never actually happened. This,
in effect, portrays God as a deceiver.
- This
is very different from creating Adam as fully grown,
looking like a 20-year-old, say, although he was really
only a few minutes old. Here there is no deception,
because God has told us that he created Adam from
the dust, therefore there cannot be any history of
growing for 20 years from an infant. But God has also
told us that the stars are real, and that they are
signs, not just apparitions from light waves.4
- There
is every reason to anticipate a logical scientific
explanation for all that we see. We don’t deny that
some research is still needed, as we don’t yet know
all the details—just as big bang theorists face various
problems and challenges.’
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In
fact, John thinks this is an exciting time to be a Christian,
particularly in the area of cosmology. He thinks that Dr Russell
Humphreys’ book Starlight and Time has broken new ground for
creation researchers in this area.
‘What Humphreys has done’, he says, ‘is show us another parameter
of something that most people view as a constant, and that
is time itself. Using Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity,
he has shown how time can vary depending on your position
in space—it affects your viewpoint. Time is slowed by gravitational
forces. A clock at sea level has been shown to run more slowly
than one on top of a mountain, because the one at sea level
is affected by more gravity. This is an effect known as time
dilation, and has been experimentally demonstrated.
‘Humphreys uses this to great effect in his model to deal
with the distant starlight issue. His cosmology starts with
the earth near the centre originally, then the universe rapidly
expanding in a “white hole” or black hole running in reverse.
At the beginning, gravity would slow earth “clocks” far more
than clocks further away, especially at the edge of the universe.
Therefore, “billions of years” would be available (measured
by clocks in those distant regions of space) for light to
reach the earth, for stars to age, etc.—while less than one
ordinary day is passing on earth (measured by earth clocks,
on which biblical time is based).’ Cutting-edge research John’s
current work is directly related to this field. As a research
fellow with a prestigious secular university, he is part of
a team that develops technology for very precise atomic clocks
(see box, below). He explained that the clocks are so precise
that they might only gain or lose about one second of time
every 400 million years. ‘They tick so fast—about 10 billion
times a second—that we can directly measure infinitesimal
losses.’
Cosmology and Christianity
John adds that since he became a Christian, he regards it
as his ‘calling’ to make cosmology more understandable for
the average layperson. He says, ‘Modern ideas about the origin
of the universe contain lots of complicated mathematical theories
and formulas. Many people are duped into thinking that because
two plus two equals four, the maths of the big bang must be
right. But in most cases, these formulas are not provable
or testable—they remain completely theoretical, and the models
they support are based on unprovable starting assumptions.
Christians, in particular, should not be worried about this.’
He is particularly critical of Dr Hugh Ross’s beliefs. That
is, Ross ‘reinterprets’ Scripture to claim the days of Genesis
1 were long ages, and tries to use the big bang as a proof
of Christianity. He observes, ‘Hugh Ross is on very shaky
ground—placing his faith in this model, particularly when
the real big bang leaders seem not to agree that the theory
implies a creator.’
When I asked him about his history as a Christian, he reminisced
about his young co-author friend. He recalls, ‘He got saved,
and I became quite bitter towards him and other Christians.
I used to go along to meetings and torment them. At one meeting
I even tipped over a table full of books and stuff. I challenged
them on evolution and origins, and they always avoided the
subject. Looking back, though, I can remember having some
doubts—a sort of belief in God, so if someone could have shown
me some scientific basis like creation—in the Bible—I think
it would have had a big impact on me.’ Sophisticated sapphires
Dr John Hartnett showed us these man-made sapphires. Very
pure crystals of aluminium oxide, they are used in the oscillator
pumps his team develops for atomic clocks. He said, ‘The ones
we are using in our clocks right now would cost around US$20,000
each. We’re currently working with the European Space Agency
in developing technology to test their atomic clock that is
going to be used on the International Space Station. The precision
of clocks like those can be used to measure the effects that
gravity has upon time, even on earth.’
Years went by, and John became a Christian during the third
year of his undergraduate degree in physics. Meeting other
Christians after that, one young man challenged him to read
Genesis, saying, ‘Read the first part, and when you’re finished,
I’ll come back and talk to you.’ John says, ‘When I started
reading it—it was like—wow, unbelievably amazing. Straight
away it struck me that this could be completely consistent
with the scientific evidence and the knowledge I had at that
time. I was being converted into a creationist there and then.’
In their enthusiasm, John (by now married) and his wife strayed
for a while into a quasi-Christian cult. He remarks, ‘We thought
we were serving God—we were so keen. But looking back, I don’t
think we ever really fitted in, and we now realize our mistake.’
John
realizes that the distant starlight issue is a major stumbling
block to belief in the Bible; the controversy, he says, is
aimed squarely at the Genesis account of creation, which is
foundational to the gospel. He says, ‘I can understand it
being an issue—it was a problem for me, too. But now I know
that God did create it all, and when He says He did, I’m just
eager to find out more about how. And, in the process, to
help Christians give increasingly powerful answers to defend
and share their faith.’
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